Prospect Notes: Cibona — Mega Basket
I haven’t written something like this yet but from time to time I will write a post and put my thoughs and opinions on what I saw in some prospect/game.
Yesterday, when most of the world was in panic with Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram and other apps down, international NBA scouts had a better job to do. They cared only about the match in Zagreb between Cibona and Mega Basket, the two with NBA prospects most loaded teams in the region.
As mentioned, the game was loaded with many prospects that will declare for 2022 or/and 2023 NBA Draft and some of them could hear their name in the lottery while others late in the second round.
In the next few paragraphs I will write a few sentences on what I saw in this match on all the prospects that are eligible for any of the upcoming drafts.
Starting with the prospects from the winning team — Cibona Zagreb.
Cibona Zagreb
Roko Prkačin (PF | 206 cm | ‘02)
His upper body looks stronger than last season and he is able to play a little more physical and with more contact than before.
Shot from distance is still shaky and inconsistent. His release isn’t the smoothest and also lacked confidence in some shots. Sometimes he hesitated for a moment before pulling the trigger and this won’t go through in the NBA. It is hard to play in the NBA nowadays without a shot, especially if you aren’t in the top percentile in some other elements.
He was late in rotations/closeouts a few times and Boriša Simanić/Matej Rudan punished that with open shots. In NBA the court is even larger and he will need to cover a longer distance plus the room for mistake is smaller and he will need to improve in this area.
I also miss more isolation plays from Prkačin but this is not only his fault though. His biggest advantage over most of the other forwards are his ball handling skills and his playmaking ability on perimeter. He is a good ball handler and can play on perimeter with the ball in his hands but haven’t seen many sets from Cibona when Roko is creating something or even pushing the ball forward in transition. Would love to see him in the “initiator” role more often but in Vildoza, Gnjidić, Gegić, Drežnjak, Radovčić.. Cibona has a lot of ball handlers.
Questions:
- What position/role can he play in the NBA?
- Can he defend athletic wings/forwards?
- Has Roko the ability to knock down open shots consistently?
Lovro Gnjidić (PG | 197 cm | ‘01)
In my opinion, Lovro should look for points in fast breaks more often. In this match he wasn’t even looking for any easy points in transition but in most occasions stepped on the brakes and played a half court set. His speed with the ball in his hands is his biggest advantage and he should use it more often.
Another thing that I miss from him is the aggressiveness. I don’t know why but every time I watch him I get a feeling that he doesn’t know how good he is and how good he can become. On this level he should beat the first line of defense easily and have more around the rim finishes but he usually isn’t going to the rim but looking for the next - “more spectacular”- move that usually leads to a turnover.
To continue with the last paragraph, he will need to improve his decision making. Some of his passes were just too risky, sloppy and not acurate and he needs to limit those mistakes. Similar goes for his fouls — some of them were unnecessary.
Showed good court vision and passing touch in some pick & roll actions. Made some advanced one-handed live dribble passes.
Played a lot as a secondary ball handler and Vildoza was running as the initiator. This wasn’t the best role for Lovro since he isn’t that great as a spot up shooter and as a player playing off-ball.
Questions:
- Will Lovro make the mental shift and become more aggressive on both sides of the floor?
- Can he shift two gears up and play at a faster pace without making sloppy mistakes?
- Can he defend stronger guards on perimeter?
- Is he able to initiate the offense on NBA level or take more scoring responsibilities?
- How much can he bring to the team when he is playing off-ball?
Danko Branković (C | 215 cm | ‘00)
Danko hasn’t played a lot in this match but in the minutes he was on the floor he was crushed by Karlo Matković. Even though Danko moves fairly well for a player his size, he was not athletic enough to follow the fast game of Mega and was usually a step behind in pick & roll defense and rotations.
He has a solid shooting touch and he is stretching the floor a lot and taking three point shots from the top or some mid range shots. Not the quickest in his legs and rolls/pops slowly.
Questions:
- Has Danko the ability to become a reliable stretch 5 in the future?
- Can he make an impact as a rim protector?
- Can he follow a past paced game in offense & defense?
- Is he able to defend quicker and more agile bigs?
Mega Basket
Nikola Jović (F | 208 cm | ‘03)
Nikola started the game on the SF spot and played mostly on this position even though we were used to see him more in the stretch PF/point PF role in youth categories.
Struggled in defense against Amar Gegić who is a great athlete and good penetrator. Jović has a pretty high gravity point and his reactions aren’t that quick. This could be exploited in NBA and I’m not sure if he will be able to defend elite athletes on perimeter. He was also poorly navigating around screens in pick & rolls and was usually a step behind.
He was making some quick and correct decisions when to shoot or pass the ball. His decision making and court vision is on a really high level for a player his age and size. Great court awareness too and he made a few good cuts to the rim.
Didn’t get much opportunities to play as an initiator on this match and this needs to be evaluated on some other match.
I had some similar questions in my head about Jović as I had for Prkačin.
Questions:
- What position/role can he play in the NBA?
- Can he defend athletic wings/forwards on perimeter?
- Has Nikola the ability to knock down open shots consistently?
Aleksander Balcerowski (C | 219 cm | ‘00)
Aleksander has great size and strong body and couldn’t be moved on post up actions. To be fair, Cibona doesn’t have any strong low post player but the stance from Balcerowski was firm and he won’t be moved easily even against stronger players.
Mobile for a player his size and had some alley oop dunks. Used his mobility well in post ups too where he created separation and showed a good jump hook touch. Also absorbed contact well in some finishes and managed to make some baskets under fouls.
Nathan Reuvers, a stretch 5, was doing some problems to Balcerowski in pick & pop sets. Aleksander usually played in a drop defense and was too late to contest the shots.
Aleksander is not really an athletic/explosive player. His reactions aren’t that good and missed some opportunities to contest or block shots better at the rim. Not sure how he could be able to follow quicker guards at the highest level even though he moves better than most players his size.
Questions:
- Can he make an impact as a rim protector?
- Is he able to defend undersized bigs on NBA level? What about stretch bigs?
- Can he switch in defense and follow guards with his legs?
Matej Rudan (PF | 208 cm | ‘01)
Was pretty efficient as a scorer and scored 14 points in the 13 minutes he was on the floor. Struggled from the free throw line and made just 3 out of 7 free throw attempts and three free throw misses came in overtime.
A stretch four that was making those open spot up shots. Has a high and quick release and Cibona had a pretty hard time contesting those shots.
In defense his legs look a little stiff and doesn’t look like a player that could switch in defense. Because of his length and size he somehow tries to contest the shots. He was also not going for rebounds actively and Cibona got some offensive rebounds because of that.
Questions:
- Can he become a consistent scorer in offense?
- Outside of scoring, what else can he bring to the team?
Karlo Matković (C | 208 cm | ‘01)
Karlo had some great actions in defense in offense. Made a few very good defensive plays, rotated well and protected the rim plus was active as a rebounder on both sides. With his mobility and athleticism he was making some problems to slower Cibona’s bigs.
In first half he missed two layups where he could dunk the ball for easy points. He has the athleticism to play above the rim and he should just dunk the ball whenever there is an opportunity.
He made a few fouls when setting the screen and should limit those kind of turnovers.
Karlo took some shots from mid-range and his shooting mechanics didn’t look so bad and I think there is potential to add some range. The shots weren’t going in but, in my opinion, if he will put in the work he can become a decent mid range shooter but probably won’t add 3 point range.
Questions:
- Will he add some range to his game or will he depend just on in the paint finishes?
- Can he switch in defense and defend on perimeter at the highest level?
Malcolm Cazalon (SG/SF | 198 cm | ‘01)
Malcolm has a good start of the season and is showing some improvements from last season. In the past he wasn’t known as a shooter from distance but in this season he is showing some good shooting touch. He took his open shots without hesitation and with confidence and maybe he could turn into a decent catch & shoot corner shooter. Off-the-dribble shots don’t look that good.
His body and athletic tools were always there and in this aspect he shouldn’t have many problems with defending or playing against the top athletes in the world. He did a good job defensively yesterday in isolation and pick & roll defense. Defended almost all players from Cibona on perimeter and showed some defensive versatility.
In offense he made some nice moves out of catch & drive sets. He moves fluidly and if he has a step of advantage he can punish that with attacking the rim. Also made some good passes on the go out of catch & drives in all directions but also a bad one when he hit Matković in the head.
Made a crucial mistake in overtime when he didn’t pass out of bounds but he just walked on the court and touched the ball before somebody else touched it.
Questions:
- Can he consistently knock down open corner threes?
- How good can he defend top caliber players?
- What would be the best offensive role for him in the NBA?
Nikola Đurišić (SG/SF | 203 cm | ‘04)
Eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft. Great developed and strong body for a player his age. Even though he was the youngest player on the court he didn’t look less pro basketball ready that the other guys on the floor. His role was smaller and will probably be bigger in next season(s).
Made a corner three point shot after he smartly made a pump fake first and let his defender fly past him. A veteran move from a 17 year old.
He wasn’t scared of making plays/mistakes. Tried an cross court pass in transition early in the game that was too risky and intercepted easily.
He was active and solid on the defensive end but will get better with more experience on pro level.
Questions:
- Can he match the athleticism of modern NBA players in offense and defense?
- What would be his role in an NBA team?